I Knew I Loved You
by tentsubasa
Summary: When Kazuki Hihara sees a flash of red out of the corner of his eye at the subway station, he doesn't know why or how, but he knows he has to follow it. This is an interpretation of Savage Garden's "I Knew I Loved You."


**Hello! Hello! It has been a very long time since I've posted on this website, and especially for this fandom. I couldn't sleep and found this among my old drafts, so I thought I'd put my insomnia to good use. I hope you enjoy it. The story is an interpretation of Savage Garden's "I Knew I Loved You" (youtube** **…com/watch?v=jjnmICxvoVY).**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own _Kiniro no Corda/La Corda d'Oro_ or any affiliates.**

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He ran through the train station like his life depended on it. This was stupid—completely and totally insane. What did he think he was doing? He leapt up the stairs three at a time. Even if he managed to catch up, what was he going to do? He'd look like an idiot. He needed to go to work. He was going to be late. But despite these things running through his head, Kazuki Hihara couldn't stop himself from pushing through the wave of people going the other direction as he raced after that flash of red.

" _Who was she?_ " he wondered as he wove his way through the swirling foot traffic. He took this train every day at the same time and had never seen her before. Why did he feel such a strong pull to her? Why did every fiber of his being cry so fiercely that if he didn't catch up to her now, he'd regret it for the rest of his life? How could he recognize—how could he know her before he'd even met her? Even more, how could he love her before he'd met her?

He managed to shove his way into an open space and whipped his head around as he searched for her. He ran a hand through his head of olive green in frustration. Had his eyes been playing tricks on him? Maybe he had just imagined her. He had only seen her for an instant. She had waltzed unassumingly into his life, and then she was gone again like a dream. He had stayed up late hanging out with Tsukasa. Maybe he had fallen asleep for a split second.

His lips thinned in determination. No, he hadn't been dreaming. He had seen his future in those eyes of liquid sunlight, even if they'd only met for a split second. All the missing pieces fell into place, and he had found his home. That couldn't be a dream. Emotions he hadn't even realized he possessed swept through him all at once in a blur. There was something there calling to him.

He heard a laugh over to his right. It was faint, but he was attuned to it. Without thinking, he tore after it, and when he rounded the corner, he saw her. She was like a rose. The doubts rushed back. Was he worthy of someone so lovely? He noticed she was talking with a couple of friends. If he walked up to her, he'd definitely be interrupting them…. But the instant he noticed the bus pulling into the dock, all thoughts flew out of his mind to make way for only one: he couldn't lose her now. No matter the outcome, he had to talk to her.

"Excuse me, Miss?" Kahoko Hino spun in shock as a strong hand snagged her wrist and pulled her back from the bus.

Kazuki quickly dropped her wrist when he saw how stunned she was. "I-I'm sorry about that, Miss. I-I shouldn't have grabbed you like that." His amber eyes shone in confusion. "I-I…uh…umm…" he stuttered. " _Way to go, genius!_ " he railed at himself. " _Now what?!_ " He gulped. "I…uh…I know that this must sound more than a little crazy—it probably sounds absolutely insane, actually—but I believe that…I mean…." He paused. What was he going to tell her? That even though they'd never met each other before he had been waiting for her his whole life? "…Do we know each other?"

She blinked at him blankly.

"Ah…I guess we don't…." He backed up slowly as horror filled him. What had he just done? Why hadn't he been able to control himself? What was he thinking? "I-I'm so sorry, Miss. I, uh, I-I hope you'll have a good day." He turned tail and fled.

"Kaho-chan?" Mio Takato's grey eyes shone in concern as her companion bowed her head with tears in her eyes.

"Did you two know he had come back to Japan?" the red-haired girl whispered.

"Yes," she answered guiltily.

Kahoko's golden eyes filled with pain. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Mio looked at her sadly. "Because he still can't remember you."

"What do you call just now?" She waved in the general direction he had fled.

"I don't know," their other friend, Nao Kobayashi, answered truthfully. "We take this route every day and he's never approached you before, so obviously something randomly clicked today." She brushed a stray strand of black bang out of her eyes. "But it seems clear to me that whatever it was was only intuition or something because he didn't stay." She sighed. "Maybe it's better this way."

"How can it be better?" Kahoko's voice was broken.

Mio and Nao wrapped their arms around her friend. "He told you to go," Nao reminded her gently. "He didn't want to keep you from your dream."

"But if he were to remember—"

"But he doesn't," she cut off. She sighed. "Come on…let's…let's just go to work."

Kahoko nodded and dashed the moisture from her eyes. She took a deep breath and gave a strong smile. Everything would be fine. As she made to follow them to an alternate bus bay, her eyes widened when a hand gently but firmly engulfed her own.

"I…I'm sorry for bothering you again, Miss, but…" she could hear his nervousness in every syllable, "but I…I needed to tell you what I really meant to say." She turned slowly to see his eyes cast toward the ground.

"I…" Kazuki gulped, "I know we don't know each other at all and that I'm probably going to get hit or locked up for this, but…." He shook his head. "I mean…I don't know how or why—there's no rhyme or reason to this—I guess there are some things you just don't question, and honestly, I don't even care that much that I can't explain the way I feel right now, but—wait, was there even a coherent thought in there?!" He dropped her hand to begin mussing up his hair in aggravation. Why couldn't he find the words? She had changed everything just by existing. He had to make her see that. How could he make her see that? He took strength when he looked at her face. The main emotion was a mixture of confusion with a healthy dollop of wariness, but he could see a glimmer of curiosity and a tiny flicker of something he didn't quite recognize.

Kahoko's breath caught when he took both of her hands and looked deeply into her eyes.

"I don't know who you are, Miss, but…I know that I'm in love with you. I know that this sounds more than a little crazy, but I knew I loved you the moment my eyes met yours earlier on the train. Being here with you, I…" he smiled nervously, "I feel like I've come home. You're what I've been searching for all my life." He squeezed his eyes shut and plowed on. "You're so familiar to me and yet, I have no idea who you are. Even though I've never seen it, I know your smile lights you up like sunshine breaking through the clouds. I know that when you cry, your eyes darken and lose their luster. I know your favorite sweets are strawberry-flavored, and that you love music with all your heart."

She drowned in those pools of amber she'd loved years ago as he begged, "Why do I know these things? Who are you?" He suddenly made a comical face. "Now that I think about it, these things _are_ right, right?"

She laughed. "Yes, yes, they are." She smiled and held out her hand. "Kahoko Hino."

His larger hand dwarfed hers. "Kazuki Hihara. It's nice to meet you…Kaho-chan."

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 **Usually I like to flesh out the back story, but I'm too lazy for that now. I hope you were able to enjoy and understand it anyway. (^_^)v**


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